Diversity and Democrats

Scarborough: 'Women Were Standing In The Rain' To Vote Against Trump

[Scarborough]: “Because I hear stories of women standing in the rain in Northern Virginia, in long lines, and they weren’t going to move until they got their vote against Donald Trump. 

"Last night wasn’t as much about Ralph Northam as it was voters — Republicans, moderates, Democrats and women — sending a message to Donald Trump.”

“Women went by 22 points for Northam,” Jim VandeHei said. “Women won the election for Democrats.”

“It’s the first time I’ve heard people saying women were standing in the rain in Northern Virginia and they’re not going to move, women standing in Charlottesville and they’re not going to move,” Scarborough said. 

“We were getting these messages across Twitter, across Facebook live that there were women that were going to send a message, a strong message to Donald Trump.”

“And they did."

Sure, part of this was specifically about The Duce, who richly deserved the rebuke.

But aside from any impact the pussy grabber in the White House has had, an enduring facet of today's American political polarization is that Democrats are a more diverse (less white, less male, less straight) bunch than either Republicans or those with no party affiliation - or, indeed, than the whole pool of American voters, than which Republicans are notably less diverse.

A line of Democrats is just going to have more women than men.

And so, it's no surprise Democratic candidates are not only more diverse than those of Republicans, but are increasingly so.

That is a consequence of the diversity of the party and its candidate pool, and the increasing and widespread acceptance among voters of the idea - quite right, of course - that there is nothing untoward about people holding high office who are not white or not male, or whose sexuality is not acceptable, according to either The Old or The New Testament.

But does that mean "we need more black people in Congress, more women, more trans-gendered. We need the Congress to be a lot less a club for old straight white men," as a young white man, presumably straight, and a Democrat, who won a seat in the Virginia legislature last night claimed?

No.

But we do need more Democrats.

That would be much better for diverse constituencies than a Congress full of Clarence Thomases and Phyllis Schlafly's.